Chiropractic

The wonder of Chiropractic started with a deaf janitor whose hearing was restored. Harvey Lillard was the first person to receive a Chiropractic adjustment from the hands of D.D. Palmer.

“On September 18th, 1895, Harvey Lillard called upon me. He was so deaf for seventeen years that he could not hear the noises on the street. Mr. Lillard informed me that he was in a cramped position and felt something give way…I replaced the displaced vertebra by one move, which restored his hearing.” —D.D. Palmer

B.J. Palmer was the son of D.D. and became a chiropractor himself at an early age. He spent over 16 years doing clinical research and is known as the “Developer” of Chiropractic for the tireless work he did in furthering the understanding and teaching of chiropractic principles and practice. He was president of the Palmer School of Chiropractic from 1906 until his death in 1961.

D.D. Palmer was the first to “light the candle” of chiropractic.

Chiropractic has been around for 113 years. Many methods developed in that course of time and all were directed towards identifying and correcting the sometimes elusive vertebral subluxation complex. These chiropractic techniques that have varied widely throughout Chiropractic academia, and typically have reflected the expertise of the chiropractic today, are now taught at most chiropractic institutions. They include the Gonstead, Diversified, and Thompson techniques usually in the core curriculum. Outside the core curriculum, other techniques are taught as electives such as Activator, SOT, Nimo, Grostic, B.E.S.T., etc.

Among the top three techniques taught, each one is distinguished from the other in the following ways:

Gonstead technique: The Gonstead technique is based on specificity. Specificity in chiropractic is defined by accurate identification of the exact location of the vertebral subluxation, and designing and delivering a specific adjustment, tailored to the needs of that specific joint, appropriately and successfully. The Gonstead technique executes this specific task with several tools.

Nerve function scans with specialized instrumentation that pinpoints the defect in the nervous system, at the spinal level.

X-ray line analyses measurements that accurately define the joint’s position.

Specific adjusting technique that utilizes multiple specialized adjusting tables in order to isolate the subluxation, with respect to its unique malposition and the appropriate successful correction.

Nerve Stress
Chiropractors are nervous system doctors. Whether it is the pain of a pinched nerve, numbness or tingling, muscle weakness, headache, or heartburn, everything in the body has a nervous system component. The nervous system masters every other cell, and system, in the body. This is how chiropractors have succeeded in helping people recover from an exhaustive and wide range of ailments for over 113 years.

The spine has many duties, which include: allowing the body to be weight bearing, allowing the body to be locomotive (move around), joining the body together as one, etc. It also has several primary duties relating to the nervous system, such as housing and protecting the central nervous system, allowing dispersion of the peripheral nervous system, and providing kinesiopropreoception (body/joint position information) to the brain and spinal cord. It is in these later duties where a spinal function or dysfunction influences the nervous system. Swelling of joint tissues in the spine from acute injury or degenerative conditions, such as degenerated discs, or herniated or ruptured discs, can lead to direct pressure at the spinal nerve root or cord. This nerve pressure translates to the brain as pain, numbness, and weakness or paralysis in muscles. This is a common result of subluxation in the spine, affecting the nervous system. It is also a common condition, readily corrected by chiropractic care.

There is another form of nerve stress that is less demonstrable on the MRI than the first but just as serious, and even more common. This is the influence that the subluxation has on joint mechanoreceptors and proprioceptors which causes facilitation (hyperactivity) in the sympathetic nervous system on the same level of the spinal cord. This stimulus bombardment alters the activity of the spinal cord associated with every function at the cord level. The sympathetic nervous system especially is spun into a hyperactive, discordant, and confusing cycle that not only did the brain not initiate but cannot even interpret. This subluxation-induced nerve disturbance goes unchecked in the body and causes a malfunction in any related body system. It also most frequently goes undiagnosed by the field of medicine. Chiropractors, however, are specialists in diagnosing and correcting this form of subluxation-induced nerve interference.